T.J. Dillashaw vs. Henry Cejudo moved from UFC 233 to Brooklyn event

UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and flyweight titleholder Henry Cejudo were slated to fight in their backyard next month, but instead, they’ll be traveling cross-country to New York.

The duo, who had been scheduled to main event UFC 233 on Jan. 26 at Anaheim’s Honda Center with Cejudo’s 125-pound title at stake, will instead fight on UFC’s ESPN debut on Jan. 19 at the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, according to the UFC. ESPN was first to break the news.

Dillashaw (16-3), a Northern California native who now bases his camp in Orange County, and Cejudo (13-2), a Los Angeles native, were part of a 1-2 combo which was a box office hit at UFC 227. The event at Staples Center in downtown LA drew a sellout crowd of 17,794 paying $2.85M as Dillashaw knocked out Cody Garbrandt in the main event to retain his title; and Cejudo edged Demetrious Johnson in a split-decision thriller to claim the flyweight title in a bout widely considered the greatest flyweight matchup in MMA history.

Dillashaw’s victory over Garbrandt marked his fourth straight victory and eighth in his past nine; Cejudo (13-2) has won three in a row.

No word yet on what might replace Dillashaw vs. Cejudo at UFC 233, which goes head to head in the SoCal market with the finals of Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament at the Forum in Inglewood.